Improvement in dumping-platforms



J. D. STARRITT.

Dumping-Platforms.

N0,151,63l, Patented1une2,1874.

VVITNESSES INV NTOR- UNITED STATES PATENT GEEICE.

JOHN D. STAItItITT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN DUMPlNG-PLATFORMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 151,631, dated June 2, 1874; application filed April 7, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, JOHN l). STARRITT, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dumping-Scales, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, which will enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, and in which- Figure l represents a top or plan view of the platform of a scale provided with my improvements, Fig. 2, a vertical central section of the same; Fig.A 3, a side elevation of the bolt and its connections; and Fig. 4, a side elevation of the hinge or pivot on which the tilting beams turn.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts.

The object of my invention is to improve the construction and operation of that class of dumping-scales whereby the load and wagon `may be weighed together, the load dumped,

and the wagon weighed alone, all without drawing the wagon from the platform.

ln the drawing, A represents the platform of the scale. B is a trap-door in the platform, and opening upward therefrom, as shown. a a are hooks depending from the under side of the door. C is a sliding bar, arranged across the door-openin g, and resting in slots in beams D D forming a part of the platformframe. E E are bolts attached to the ends of the bar C. a a are arms attached to the bar C, and e e are arms hinged to a crossbeam, F, of the frame. G is a rod passing through loops in the ends of the arms a and e. Vhen the door is closed the arms a a lie in, or nearly in, a horizontal plane just below the closed door, and the arms e e, at the point where they are hinged to the beam F, lie a little way below this plane. As the door is opened the hooks a a engage the rod G, and the continued upward and rearward movement of the free end of the door results in drawing back the bolts, and leaves the rod G and its attachments in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. l/Vhen the door is closed the hooksa a fall from their engagement with the rod G, but the door, before being wholly closed, strikes the armsl a and e, and pushes them to their original position, thus throwing the bolts forward. The bolts should be beveled, as shown in Fig. 3. The door may be provided with one or more braces, hinged thereto to support it when it is open, as shown in Fig. 2; it may also be provided with means to enable it to be readily opened. H H are tilting beams pivoted to the frame of the platform A, and H is a table or platform attached to the said beams. h is a cross-bar to limit the downward movement of the inner ends of the beams H H. I I are plates or disks attached to the beams H H. These plates are each provided with a projection, t', extending into the frame of the platform A, and constitutin g the pivot on which the beams H H are supported. The plates I I are also curved on their lower edges, as shown, and these curves lie in the arcs of circles, of which the pivots i c' are the centers, respectively. These curved edges also rest on the cross-bar h, and rock or ride thereon when the beams H H are tilted, thus relieving the strain upon the pivots. The outer ends of the beams H H are made much thinner or narrower than the remaining part, as shown in Fig. 1. These thin parts sink between beams just far enough. apart to receive them. The inner ends of the beams H H are beveled, as shown. When the beams H H lie in a horizontal position their inner ends are supported on the bolts E E.

In order to weigh a load the wagon is driven onto the platform in the direction indicated by the arrow, the door being shut, and the beams H H lying in a horizontal position. The rear wheels should rest upon the beams H H, and the forward wheels upon the parts H. By providing these beams with the part H less care is necessary in order to draw and retain the wagon on the tilting parts. The horses are driven just oif the platform A. The load and wagon may now be weighed together. In order to dump the load the door B is raised, but not so far that the hooks a a will engage the rod G. The rear board of thc wagon is now removed or opened, and as much of the load as will now fall lout passes into the opening uncovered by the door B. The door is now raised or thrown rearward until the bolts are thereby drawn. The tilting parts, with the wagon thereon, now assume the po sition shown in Fig. 2, and the Whole load is dumped. The Wagon may now be drawn forward until its weight causes the tilting parts to assume their original position. If the door be now closed the beams H H will be locked. The wagon may now be weighed alone, and its weight deducted from the weight of the load. While the wagon is tilted it is blocked by the contact of its rear wheels with the frame of the platform. A The team is also prevented, by the part Hf, from backing upon the platform, but if the horses should succeed in getting a footing thereon, while attempting to back, their feet would not pass between the beams of the frame, it being understood that the spaces which receive the narrow parts of the beams H H are too narrow to admit of such an accident, and that the remaining spaces may be boarded over or otherwise covered. Vhen the door is closed the arms a and e operate as a toggle to push forward the bar C and the bolts. The load thus dumped may be passed by a chutev from below the platform into the bin.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The .door B in the platform of a scale, having the hooks a a in combination with a toggle connected to the bolts E E for the purpose of releasing and locking a tilting platform in the platform of the scale by opening and closing the door, as set forth.

2. The tilting beams H H in the platform of a scale, provided with the platform or table Hf, in combination with the bolts E E, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

3. The tilting beams H H in the platform of a scale, provided with the plates I I having the pivots t t' on which the beams are hung, the plates having curved lower edges resting on the cross-bar h, and the bolts E E, all combined substantially as and for the purposes specified.

JOHN D. STARRITT.

Vitn'esses F. F. WARNER, N. O. GRIDLEY. 

